Pittsburgh Steelers News & Rumors

Recently, Le’Veon Bell has intimated that he could retire or potential sit out the 2018 season if he doesn’t get a multi-year extension to his liking. In an Instagram live video on Wednesday, Bell indicated that neither scenario is really in play. 

“Honestly, no, I’m not going to sit out. I’m going to be in the facility Week 1,” Bell said (via ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler). “It’s going to be a rerun of last year. I’m not going to [training] camp. I’m not doing nothing else extra, OTAs, none of that. … I’m going to strictly go to what I have to go to. I want to win every game. I want to have the best statistical career that I possibly can, so I want to play in every game that I can possibly play.”

Earlier in week, Bell indicated in an interview with Billboard.com that he might consider sitting out until Week 10 of the season. If Bell were to sit out beyond that point, he would not accrue the necessary year in order to reach free agency in 2019. However, his latest comments are a sign that he is fully intent on playing, despite past threats.

Without threats of retirement or a holdout that extends into the regular season, Bell doesn’t have a ton of leverage. The Steelers want to see Bell in training camp, particularly in light of his early season struggles when he held out in 2017, but that probably won’t give Bell enough juice to move the needle.

For now, the Steelers have Bell under a placeholder on Bell for 2018 at a cost of $14.544MM. The Steelers have the option of rescinding the tag late in the offseason if Bell stalls, which would leave him without a feasible market once most of the league’s cap room is dried up.

So much for the positive updates on talks between Le’Veon Bell and the Steelers. On the eve of the league’s franchise tagging deadline, the running back says that the two sides are far apart in talks (via ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler). Furthermore, Bell added that he was not bluffing in January when he said that he is contemplating retirement if he does not get the kind of deal he is after. 

“We’re not coming to a number we both agree on — they are too low, or I guess they feel I’m too high,” Bell said. “I’m playing for strictly my value to the team, that’s what I’m asking. I don’t think I should settle for anything less than what I’m valued at.”

Instead of looking at his value in terms of what he brings to the Steelers, Bell gets the sense that the team is putting a greater focus on the running back market as a whole. Currently, Falcons tailback Devonta Freeman stands as the game’s highest-paid running back at $8.25MM per year. Bell has previously stated that he wants a deal that reflects his value not just as a runner, but as a lethal pass catcher. He remains more optimistic about talks than he was last year, but he doesn’t see anything coming together between now and Tuesday afternoon.

“We might get something done,” Bell said. “I’m hoping for something to get done but I’m not expecting it to [before Tuesday].”

As it stands, the Steelers are expected to tag Bell for a second consecutive season, this time at the inflated cost of $14.544MM. The mechanism, in theory, would keep Bell in place for the 2018 season, but his retirement threat could throw a wrench into plans, depending on how seriously it is received by the Steelers.

Despite some early optimism at getting a multi-year deal done, the Steelers are expected to franchise tag running back Le’Veon Bell before the Tuesday deadline, barring a dramatic turn in talks (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Both sides will continue working on a deal, but it sounds like Bell will first be held in place with a one-year, $14.544MM tender. 

If they go through with the tag, this will mark the second straight year in which the Steelers have franchised Bell. Last year, Bell did not take kindly to Pittsburgh’s long-term offers and took his time before signing the one-year placeholder. The running back wound up skipping training camp and the preseason before finally inking the tender in early September. It’s conceivable that Bell could take a similar approach this year if talks stall once again.

For what it’s worth, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert is optimistic about the team’s odds of re-signing Bell.

“I believe I am [confident]. … I think with both sides wanting to get something done,” the longtime Steelers GM said. “… I think that certainly aids your ability to get that done.”

Last year, Bell rejected a five-year offer that would have paid him a guaranteed $30MM over the course of the first two years and $60MM overall. No one knows exactly what Bell is asking for this time around, but he has indicated that he would accept a deal with $50MM guaranteed.

Despite reports that Le’Veon Bell and the Steelers are more likely to reach a long-term deal this year than they were last year, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports that the two sides have yet to make major progress towards a multi-year contract.

The deadline for teams to apply the franchise tag to prospective free agents is Tuesday, March 6, and at this point, it looks as if Bell will be tagged for the second consecutive year (although GM Kevin Colbert continues to talk to Bell’s representatives, and he reportedly hopes an agreement will be reached by Tuesday’s deadline). Of course, if Bell is hit with the tag, he and the Steelers would still have until mid-July to negotiate a new deal.

In something of a humorous side note, Bell is getting a little help in these negotiations from teammate Maurkice Pouncey. As Fowler notes, Pouncey has taken to Instagram to support Bell, suggesting that if the star RB does not have a new deal by the time the 2018 league year opens, Pouncey will personally speak with Colbert, head coach Mike Tomlin, and team president Art Rooney II to try and facilitate matters.

This year’s franchise tender for running backs would pay Bell around $14.5MM for the 2018 campaign, which gives him a platform on which to negotiate a long-term contract. Last summer, Bell rejected a five-year offer that would have paid him a guaranteed $30MM over the course of the first two years (and $60MM overall), but after putting together another excellent season in 2017, he could exceed both of those figures if he and Pittsburgh can finally work something out in the coming months.